Ah, yes. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. The grand finale of a trio that received PC ports that, while good and all, felt like they had been assembled with duct tape and lots of optimism. Developed by Capcom, Nemesis took the already beloved survival horror formula and cranked up the action, while quietly misplacing a chunk of its brains in the process. It’s classic Resident Evil, but with more running, more explosions, and a thing that chases you like you owe it money. Good news for that part of the “PC Master Race” community that loves older gems, as the one at hand has gotten a recent re-release on Steam. After a look at the ports of Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2, here’s one more for the end of the trilogy.
You step into the boots of Jill Valentine as she attempts to escape Raccoon City, while being relentlessly pursued by the trench coat enthusiast himself, Nemesis. The story? Err… It’s there. Technically. It sort of loiters in the background while Nemesis does his thing. Compared to earlier entries, it’s a bit thin, with the newest members of the cast being the least memorable in the whole franchise. Even the crows in the original Resident Evil had more character than Carlos what’s-his-name. Then again, you’re not here for deep narrative arcs; you’re here because something large and angry just kicked down a door. No, it’s gameplay where the threequel shines the brightest.
At its core it’s the same experience all over. Explore a world full of narrow corridors, angry undead and even angrier mutations, solve the occasional “puzzle”, and use item X on item Y so that you can then find Z. The main difference is that Resident Evil 3 is the most action packed and fast paced of the PS1 trilogy. The heroine is still expected to avoid confrontations when possible, with her having a bunch of evasion moves as well, but she will also get numerous opportunities to shoot at things, especially on Easy, where she is given an arsenal that makes Doomguy blush.
Now, lots of words could be spent to explain how Resident Evil 3 differentiates itself from previous entries, or analyse the gunpowder system that lets one craft ammo, or talk about the fact that resource placement occasionally changes depending on Jill’s actions, or that you now have to interact with background items like explosive barrels or whatever. All these are fine and all, but in all honesty, the real STAAAR (couldn’t resist) of the show is Nemesis. That smiling fellow doesn’t enter a scene – he arrives. Walls? Optional. Doors? Decorative. Any sense of safety? Gone. He’s faster, meaner, and more committed than anything the series had thrown at players before. You don’t beat Nemesis – you temporarily inconvenience him while fleeing like your life depends on it. Please note that it does.
Now, the Steam port… This is where things usually go off the rails. Historically, similar releases aren’t that stable. It doesn’t help that the original age-old PC port wasn’t exactly bug free. Somehow, though, this version…works? Like, properly? It’s been wrangled into shape with help from GOG, making it behave on modern systems. Don’t expect any modernisms, however. There’s an assortment of typical display options, as well as much higher resolutions available, but a remaster this is not. Character models look cleaner, yet those otherwise good-looking pre-rendered backgrounds are still as blurry as a rainy afternoon in Manchester, and no amount of filtering will turn them into 4K masterpieces.
While it would be great if there was more here to talk about, the mission of this version is very simple: it wants to provide the means to enjoy Resident Evil 3 without dealing with compatibility settings and all that garbage, and it achieves exactly that. It’s a neatly preserved, beautiful antique. Content-wise, it’s all here, whether that’s the various localisation options, as well as the fantastic Mercenaries mode, which had a habit of mysteriously vanishing in some of the older PC versions.
All in all, a great port that preserves the chaos, the tension and the sheer absurdity of being chased across a city by a bio-engineered nightmare that doesn’t know when to stop. Is it the best PS1-era Resident Evil? No, but it’s still fun to play, and the campaign is super speed-running friendly. Like, you can complete it five times in a row and still enjoy your sixth.
In case you are wondering, too, yes, this is better than the remake.
